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The episodes were pretty good for my taste! So let’s talk about the plots in full detail. Princess Twilight Sparkle is getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration and Rainbow Dash is trying to teach pointers to Twilight’s flying skills. She is still trying to get what flying is all about and crashes to the ground. By the end of the episodes, Twilight is flying like she has done it since she was born. I hope we will still see some Twilight flying issues in future episodes! With Twilight being a princess, she is helping to get ready for the celebration, which means her friends are going back to Ponyville without her, this makes her kind of sad. But her friends do a great job cheering her up!

Twilight and Spike, I think Spike is going to be a great assistant to Princess Twilight this season, are getting ready for the celebration by going over a list. Twilight is still adorkable by flying and crashing into that ceiling. And Twilight, you don’t have to bow to Princess Celestia anymore! Celestia is happy to have Princess Luna back after she was sent to the moon for becoming Nightmare Moon, more on that later. After a quick meeting, Princess Celestia is grabbed by those vines and goes missing! We never see how Princess Luna is kidnapped. That would have been cool!

Ponies start to panic as both the sun and moon are up in the sky in the same positions. In Equestria, it is day and night. The Royal Guards summon Twilight and Spike where they tell her the Royal Sisters are missing. Since Princess Twilight is the only princess left in Canterlot (Princess Cadence is far away at the Crystal Empire), the guards await Princess Twilight’s orders. I liked how confident Princess Twilight gets at this point. It’s almost like Princess Celestia made a great decision to upgrade Twilight to a alicorn.

Things keep going downhill when another royal guard runs in to tell Twilight that the Everfree Forest is invading Ponyville. We see the other Mane 6 trying to deal with the situation. And things are not going too well. Twilight grabs her crown and Spike and tries to catch a train until Spike tells Twilight that she can fly. I loved the car breakdown sound effects when Twilight takes off! The other Mane 6 are in the Ponyville Library when Twilight and Spike come crashing in. Twilight still needs to work on her flying! The Elements of Harmony come back into play and they summon a very familiar character!

Discord is back ladies and gentlemen! I loved the entrance while he was bathing and singing Winter Wrap Up. The ponies believe that Discord is behind everything and he is trying to convince them that he knows nothing about this. This is like having friends disagreeing on everything. What do you do when friends disagree on everything? Zecora also comes in from the forest and gives Twilight this special magic scrying potion that only alicorns can activate and drink to see what is causing the mayhem. Twilight then goes into the past to see the beginning of Nightmare Moon! That was a great transformation sequence by the way!

In the second episode, Twilight is like the behind the scenes actress while Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon are in this epic alicorn battle. Princess Celestia reveals the Elements of Harmony which are hidden in the old castle floor and uses them to banish Nightmare Moon to the moon for 1000 years. We also get to see another moment of Discord chaos where Princess Celestia and Luna use the elements to turn discord into stone. We also see the Royal Sisters at the Tree of Harmony where they get the elements for the first time. I am surprised the Tree of Harmony lasted this long without the elements before it went crazy.

The Mane 6 goes into the Everfree Forest to find the Tree the Harmony, and meet a cragidile where it almost eats Princess Twilight. She needs to get her flying skills down pat! The other Mane 6 thinks its safer for Twilight to go back to Ponyville since she could be the only princess left in Equestria. This is a sad moment because it’s friends disagreeing with friends. Twilight goes back to Ponyville when Discord gives Twilight a pep talk to go back into the forest. I was happy to see Discord rise up to the occasion and be good for once!

The other Mane 6 finds the Tree of Harmony where the black vines have choked the life out of it. Twilight is ambushed by black vine attacking plants and Spike gets the attention of the other Mane 6 to save Twilight’s life. Friends apologize to each other and make amends. Twilight tells the others that the tree needs the Elements of Harmony. This makes the other Mane 6 nervous because the elements brought them together to be best friends. But Twilight tells the others that their friendship bonds will still be strong, even without having the elements. This moment is perfect to look back. What if Twilight was unsuccessful in bringing back her crown in Equestria Girls? The results would have been bad.

Twilight uses her magic to return the elements to the tree and the tree comes back to life. The vines are quickly dispelled and the group discovers both Celestia and Luna trapped in the mass of vines near the base of the trunk. Discord is clearly not pleased with the vines disappearing. The tree then produces a box where it has six key holes. This is your season four story arc people! I have to believe the season 4 finale will tell us what’s in that box. It’s clearly something that will define Equestria forever. After emerging from the forest, Discord comes clean and tells the Mane 6 that he planted those black seed vines before he was turned into stone. Why did Discord never tell the Mane 6 about those seeds? Did he want Twilight to learn a valuable lesson by figuring it out herself? Or did he secretly want the chaos to continue forever? We will never know. With the Elements of Harmony no longer in play, I have a feeling Discord might enjoy some chaos this season!

At the Summer Sun Celebration, Princess Celestia actually talked about the struggles with Luna’s relationship and her return to royalty. This was something I felt like needed to be talked about. Then Princess Luna lowers the moon while Princess Celestia raises the sun. When they meet each other in the middle of the sky, Princess Twilight does a spectacular “Twilight Sparkboom.” The other ponies are amazed and Twilight has her flying skills down pat. I like that new crown by the way! You saw some scenes from the old castle, which will be talked about in the next episode. And thanks Hub Network for showing a few scenes from that Power Ponies episode that we will see in a couple of weeks! That is going to be a very hyped episode! What a great Christmas present for the Bronies! Here’s a picture from the promo.

So I am going to talk about my thoughts about these episodes. The animators at DHX did a wonderful job! They clearly realize the popularity of this show and they took the flash animation to the next level. The animation in the first two episodes is something we would not have seen in the first season. The dynamic lighting at the stained glass scene is something I never have seen before in cartoons. The action sequences also had some awesome animation moments. Clearly, we are going to see some great animation in season four! DHX should animate more cartoons!

The storytelling and writing were great as well. Kudos to Meghan McCarthy for writing these episodes! I am happy to see we will have a season-long story arc which will keep the fans coming back each week to see what happens. Even without the Elements of Harmony, the Mane 6 will still be working together and be best friends throughout season four. I will be interested to see what’s in that box at the end of the season, most likely. The episodes also had plenty of continuity like the other stained glass windows, Pinkie Pie’s Pinkie Sense, and even the old wooden bridge from the very first episodes. I was also happy to learn some Equestrian history. I hope we will see more Equestrian history in season four. I also loved the geek/nerd nods like the Star Wars Nightmare Moon / Princess Celestia battle in the second episode. Keep it up!

Clearly the first episodes of season four has this series more grown up. It’s almost like this show could fit perfectly in the broadcast network’s primetime lineups. We have come a long way from writing Princess Celestia letters about the lessons of friendship. The Mane 6 deal with some adult issues you would have never seen in the first seasons. Twilight is worried she can not enjoy the new places and responsibilities with her friends. Somehow, I think we will see the Mane 6 together in many episodes this season. We will get those episodes where they focus on one of the Mane 6, which I want to see. Those episodes will probably be the ones we will find those keys to that locked box. But the Mane 6 will still be best friends and care for each other.

I can't stop thinking about the chest in the Tree of Harmony. 6 keys, 6 locks…hmmmm, I wonder what it can all mean. #TwilightSparkle

Even with the moments like Pinkie Pie being herself, the Mane 6 have matured from the first seasons. They all act like mature adults now, even though their ages suggest they are older teenagers / young adults. They are way more mature than other ponies at their ages. I think their maturity will also get stronger in the future season four episodes. I have a feeling whatever is in that box is something Princess Celestia has up in her hooves that will affect the other Mane 6 ponies. The comedy, action, and drama in these episodes was excellent! I expect the rest of season four to be amazing. We will see new writers create some action in season four. Nothing better to see new writers launch their careers on a popular cartoon aimed at little girls!

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I liked how when Twilight was flying towards the library, she teleported, leaving Spike falling to hit the window. AND in the opening sequence for Season 4, Derpy is hiding in the train, as well as the Crusaders. But Discord can be seen in Fluttershy’s window! When she is feeding Angel the apple. He shows up in the window of her cottage.

Derpy and the Crusaders was in train in the season 3 intro as well, I checked. Yep, I am glad the show animators put Discord in Fluttershy’s window, I thought he needed to be in the intro somewhere. So far, Season 4 has been living up to my expectations. Thanks for commenting!

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